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(Belleville News-Democrat (IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 20--A class-action lawsuit alleges a national chain of grocery stores, which includes several local Shop 'n Save stores, failed to protect its customers from hackers who may have stolen their financial information.

Representatives of Supervalu, the parent company of Shop 'n Save, have said they do not know of any customers affected by the data breach.

A Supervalu spokesman could not be reached for comment about the lawsuit.

Four people, two from Missouri and two from the metro-east, seek more than $5 million from Supervalu in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court.

Steve McPeak, of unincorporated west Belleville in St. Clair County; Katherin Murray of Wood River in Madison County; Timothy Roldan of Creve Coeur, Mo., in St. Louis County; and Darla Young of Lake St. Louis, Mo., in St. Charles County, allege financial damages after shopping at Supervalu stores in their respective counties.

They allege the company failed to safeguard the financial information of up to 40 million customers and did not promptly notify customers of the data breach.

Last week, the company announced that someone hacked into its computer network and may have stolen the account numbers and other personal information from customers who used a credit or debit card at as many as 180 of its stores.

The company has not determined whether such data was actually stolen and has no evidence of any misuse, according to a news release.

Locally, customers who may be impacted used credit or debit cards between June 22 and July 17 in Shop 'n Save grocery stores located at:
--800 Carlyle Ave. in Belleville,
--4201 North Belt West in Belleville,
--68 N. Bellwood Drive in Bethalto,
--1028 Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia,
--9529 Collinsville Road in Collinsville,
--717 Vandalia Road in Collinsville,
--634 Berkshire Blvd. in East Alton,
--2122 Troy Road in Edwardsville,
--3521 Nameoki Commons in Granite City, and
--1900 East Edwardsville in Wood River.

The data breach does not affect the Schuette's Market grocery stores in the metro-east. These stores previously were known as SuperValu stores, according to company President Mike Schuette.

Supervalu representatives say they are confident its customers can safely use their credit and debit cards at its stores, and the company is cooperating with federal law enforcement in their investigation into the breach.

"The safety of our customers' personal information is a top priority for us," said Supervalu President Sam Duncan. "The intrusion was identified by our internal team, it was quickly contained, and we have had no evidence of any misuse of any customer data. I regret any inconvenience that this may cause our customers but want to assure them that it is safe to shop in our stores."
Supervalu is offering affected customers a year of complimentary consumer identity protection services through AllClear ID. Those customers may learn more by calling 855-731-6018 or visit the website www.supervalu.com.